Panicked Room
"Panicked Room" is the 16th episode of the fourth season of Camp Camp, and is the 56th episode overall. It premiered September 14th, 2019 on the RT FIRST site, and September 21st, 2019 on the Rooster Teeth website. Official Synopsis Plot "Honey, I'm home!" Campbell announces as he opens the door of his abandoned summer home, and a laugh track plays at he stands there for a moment, waiting for it to die down. He shuts off a nearby boombox propped up on a small pillar (the source of the noise), while chuckling that it never gets old. He wanders over to a nearby table and picks up a book about "cyber warfare for imbeciles and dumb dumbs", which then causes the door to slam closed and become shuttered with metal panes to prevent escape. On a nearby wall, four photos consisting of a badger, iguana, deer, and hawk are individually lit up with spotlights, and one of his taxidermied bears and the boombox are lit up as well. Angrily, he demands to know if he's in a Saw-style setup, and a voice comes over the intercom. David, in a bad British accent, hopes that he's prepared to save England (whom he calls Mother Britannia), and with clenched fists Campbell remembers that the summer home had been converted into an escape room and demands to be let out, to which David explains the only escape is through a channel of his own wits. He hears a glass shattering and sees Miss Priss nearby, downing the last drops of wine out of a plastic bag. Shocked, Campbell drops his book as he recognizes her, and she drops the bag while asking what he's doing here. Of course, this is his home, and despite initially lying about being there to check her mail she confesses to having raided his wine cabinet for the last 7 years. With a yelp, David turns off the screen that gave him and Gwen a visual feed of the living room, and she protests because it was getting juicy. Conspiratorially, David states that everyone knows Mr. Campbell and Miss Priss have a mysterious rivalry they've never spoken about, and Gwen wonders how everyone knows if it's unspoken. He interrupts, wondering if he should let them out at the risk of desecrating the purity of the escape room, and Gwen shoves him outside, saying he should take the time to think about it before deciding. She instantly returns with a bag of popcorn and turns the video feed back on, and Campbell sheepishly asks Miss Priss how she's been as the theme song rolls. With his arms folded, Campbell says he can't believe they're stuck in here, and she voices her agreement on this because Campbell's perpetual nose whistle is irritating, to which he takes offense. She asks why on earth he'd build an escape room at a children's summer camp, and he says no one asked her to come here because it's his house. Miss Priss says that at one point this was supposed to be their house together before he ghosted her, and the boombox plays a disappointed "aw!" noise. Campbell insists he didn't ghost her, so instead she mockingly says that they went on a 17-year "break" in their relationship instead. Campbell then asks why they aren't focusing on the fact that they're going to die in this room, and that her permanently-surprised face (implying she's had a lot of botox injections) is the last thing his beautiful Danube eyes will gaze upon, to which she growls at him to not jazz it up as they are barely blue. Miss Priss wanders over to the four animal portraits to inspect them, then glances at the taxidermied bear as Campbell sits at the table with a frustrated expression. Around the corner from where she's standing, a ding is heard and an arrow on the wall lights up, and Campbell realizes that this is the exit. He fruitlessly tries the handle, and even steals a bobby pin from Miss Priss to try and pick the lock to no avail. She realizes the solution it is to arrange a selection of individually floating letters into a slotbox containing two words totaling 9 letters in order to be able to open the door, but Campbell takes a different approach entirely; he informs the computer that he is an admin and to override the system, to absolutely no effect. Exasperated, she tells him there is no computer, and with an unimpressed look he tells the computer to play some funk music, which it promptly does. With a dramatic sigh, Campbell declares he's given up and flops onto a nearby couch. Bitterly, she chastises him for giving up, and that maybe he needs a break to "figure some shit out", to which he dumbly remarks that she's mocking him. Miss Priss pauses the funk music and irritably explains that the only way out is to complete the escape room, which shouldn't be too difficult as she has a bachelors degree in - Campbell cuts her off, sneering that it only took a record four minutes for her to mention her degree. She has nothing to say to this, and stomps back over to the animal portraits, quietly talking to herself that the four are connected. With a smirk, Campbell taunts that he can solve this before she does. She tells him it's not a pissing contest and he retaliates that it's not a prissing contest either, and the two share a smile about how good the comeback was. She goes back to scrutinizing the portraits, and again Campbell says he's solved it but that it also wouldn't be fair not to give her a chance, and she throws up her hands in exasperation. She wanders over to a pair of bottles underneath a coat of arms, and opens one of them with a sword she pulls off the wall, saying she likes to drink while she thinks. She wanders back over to the portraits and momentarily sets the bottle down on a table, which causes a keypad to emerge from the wall, and when she lifts the bottle for another swig the keypad vanishes. Campbell notices this and tells her to put the wine down, and with an outraged sigh she says "oh here we go again!" and insists that she's control of her drinking habits, but he guides the bottle down anyway and the keypad returns. A 4-digit code is required and Miss Priss believes that it is alphanumeric; each number corresponds with the first letter of the animals' names, and so badger, iguana, deer, and hawk translate to 2847. However, the keypad beeps that this is incorrect. Campbell goes down the line, naming each of them in their scientific classifications (arctonyx collaris, cyclura harland, capreolus capreolus, and accipter melano chlamys) so this would mean the code is 1131, and the keypad beeps in agreement, thus giving him access to a key. Defeated, Miss Priss sinks onto a nearby chair, and notices a small chest with a keyhole beside her. Campbell boasts about his victory, and she allows him to make a complete fool of himself trying to insert the key into the portraits and the phone. She finally intercepts and places it into the actual lock, lewdly suggesting he always had trouble finding the right hole. A roar rings out and Miss Priss jumps in terror, ending up in Campbell's arms, and the atmosphere immediately turns hazy and romantic as the pair lean in for a kiss, but in the nick of time they break apart, flustered at what almost happened. She makes the excuse that she's drunk and disoriented, and he adds that perhaps the flooring's a bit uneven as well. The source of the roar turns out to be the taxidermied bear, whose internal light and noisebox seem to be faltering. Campbell says he's bewildered, and Miss Priss jokingly asks if he's "bear-wildered" and they share a fistbump. He tells the story of the bear (named Earl) who got into the pudding compost behind the mess hall and subsequently died before Campbell could get to him. With a gasp, Miss Priss realizes that the soundbox wasn't failing, but it was actually roaring in a morse code pattern to say "C-A-M-P-E". Campbell thinks this means they need to say "Campe Diem", but she cuts in by roaring back at the bear instead, and the clearly smitten Campbell marvels at the fact that she can still speak perfect kodiak. The bear's eyes and mouth light up as it moves to the side, revealing a two-way mirror, and he seizes the opportunity to flex and admire his reflection. He turns back to her, asking what didn't work before that they could potentially try again, and she spitefully replies he could try communicating instead of bottling up his emotions. A tad stunned, he says he was talking about the puzzle, and she quietly and unconvincingly says she was too. Campbell has decided he's done playing philosophical mind games and that now's the time for elbow grease, and thus he begins running around the room, flipping over the couch and kicking the exit door to absolutely no effect. He notices a ventilation shaft on the floor, but since he's way too "yoked" to fit through it she could potentially get out if she "sucked it in". This greatly offends Miss Priss, and to avoid her wrath Campbell jumps into the shaft, getting himself somewhat stuck while calling out that he's sucking it in too. Miss Priss wanders over to the mirror and examines herself, sighing and lamenting over all her wasted time. Her breath causes the mirror to fog up slightly, and she realizes that "1999" is visible in the center of where her breath smudged it. Campbell comes flying out of the vents and grabs his date calendar, which prominently displays a pair of large breasts on the cover. With disdain, she asks if this is what he's into, and with a blush he tries to justify it as a prize from a boat show swag bag. She flips through it and declares it a dead end upon finding no useful information, and Campbell resentfully calls out that he resents David for being so adept at constructing escape rooms. Miffed, she calls him a quitter again, and once more he thinks she's talking about the game. At this point, they can no longer ignore discussing their failed romance, and soft music queues up. Campbell explains that he left because he was confused and scared because he'd fallen so hard, and she counters that she had doubts too and that love is a choice; "you either choose to make an effort or choose to disappear to Thailand." She was ready to give him everything, he didn't know if he wanted anything, and she heatedly explains he should've told her that so she could move on. With tears streaming down her face, she reminds him he ghosted her and left her thinking she wasn't good enough, and that she hasn't been the same since this heartbreak. She calls him a coward as they turn away from each other, and she walks off. Despite her melancholy, Miss Priss spots a red travel guide on the bookshelf, and opens it up to find an old photo of them posing happily in their swimsuits. Quietly, she asks why she'd never seen this photo, and reminisces on the events behind it; they'd gone "glamping" and a typhoon rolled in, so they hunkered down, drank some wine - "and punished the mattress with deeds illegal in all five unincorporated US territories" Campbell finishes. They share a quick laugh, and Miss Priss wistfully says they used to have so many adventures, including one trip that was dubbed Puerto Drinko, and with a shock she exclaims "that's it!" She grabs the wine bottle from earlier, displaying the label of Campbell Vineyards, Pinot Roar from 1999. This is the same date emblazoned on the two-way mirror, and that the exit door requires 9 letters. This leads Campbell to recognize the bottle as their joint effort, that was (appropriately) panned by critics for containing bear's blood, and they arrange the letters into the slotbox to read "Pinot Roar". Just as Miss Priss is about to insert the P, Campbell grips her wrist, apologizing for being a coward and that he is trying to become a better person, and so wants to treat her better by ending their "break" and jump in where they left off. Miss Priss is momentarily stunned but then bursts into laughter before realizing he's serious. He is earnest about having had adequate time to collect his thoughts, and she is displeased that it took him 17 years to reach this conclusion. He again says it was just a break to explore himself, then asks if she's seen other men, to which she replies 100% absolutely yes. Of course, Campbell says he hadn't seen anyone as he was respecting the sanctity of their break, and while she was initially heartbroken, she did eventually move on. With a sigh, he apologizes for screwing everything up, and she voices her agreement about being sorry for his bad actions as well. In the background, the boombox plays a heartwarming "aww!" sound. Miss Priss places the final letter into the slotbox and alarms go off in celebration of them completing the escape room. Relieved, she says they can go now, but Campbell suggests they can stick around and catch up over the bottle of Pinot Roar instead. About 3 bottles of wine later, Miss Priss is griping over Sasha being insufferable, but that she also used to be like that as a child. Campbell agrees that the Flower Scouts sound like a handful, then casually asks if she's seen anyone special in the last almost-two-decades. Swirling her glass, she replies it's only been a few randos, a girl at a Stevie Nicks concert, and a few guys all named some variation of Charles. She is astonished that he hasn't gotten laid in 17 years, then coyly suggests he must be out of practice as they share a knowing look. Right outside the woodsy exterior of the escape room exit, the entirety of Camp Campbell is standing around in the dark, looking bored out of their minds, having presumably been waiting out here since the exit was unlocked hours ago - with the exception of David, who has his typical sunny grin plastered to his face. Talking through his smile, he asks where they are, as his smile muscles are burning. Max sadistically states it would be awesome if they actually murdered each other, and David scolds that it would not be awesome as Gwen simultaneously responds it would be too much paperwork. The funk music begins blaring and a drawn-out female moan is heard, and everyone reacts with some variation of shock or disgust. Nikki, however, innocently voices her belief that it could be a ghost. David decides to check it out, and as he opens the door he is met with Miss Priss hotly declaring that she's going to ride Campbell's mustache into a fine powder. He slams the door with a yelp and takes a few seconds to absorb the horrors he's just witnessed, then promptly announces an emergency swim session and for everyone to meet at the swim bay, swiftly ushering the bewildered campers away. Transcript would go here. Features Characters Main Characters * Cameron Campbell * Miss Priss Supporting Characters * Gwen * David Minor Characters * Max * Nikki * Neil * Ered * Nurf * Nerris * Harrison * Preston Goodplay * Dolph * Space Kid * Sasha Music * "Camp Camp Song Song" (Opening Theme) * "No Escape" (Ending Theme) Gallery Trivia * Miss Priss states that she's been raiding the wine cabinet for the past 7 years, so this confirms she has been working as a Flower Scout troop leader for at least that length of time. Whether or not it's been more than that, and that she only turned to heavy drinking on the job fairly recently, is unknown. * There is a bit of meta humor in this episode: in one of his early speeches, Campbell says his eyes are "danube" blue. Every color that exists is given a "hex code" (and a corresponding "name", such as "sky blue", "lime green", etc), and these same hex codes are used by animators to maintain uniform colors inserted into character models. According to this wiki, his eyes use the hex code 7DABDD, which in layman's terms is known as "danube blue". * Campbell's email is apparently cam.com@aol.com * When Campbell says it took Miss Priss a record 4 minutes before mentioning her degree, the timestamp for that line is roughly 3:53, so it's a pretty stealthy fourth-wall break. * For those curious, the scientific and layman's translations of the animal species are as follows. Interestingly, none of them are native to the US where Camp Campbell is located: ** Arctonyx Collaris is a hog badger (living in central & southeast Asia). ** Cyclura Harland is a rock iguana (located in the west indies islands). ** Capreolus Capreolus is a roe deer (residing in Europe). ** Accipter Melano Chlamys is a black mantled goshawk (inhabiting New Guinea). * This episode reveals that Campbell does know the scientific names for some animal species, which is interesting as previous episodes (such as "Dial M For Jasper" and the short "Camp Campbell Wants YOU!") have implied that he only opened the camp as a way to make money, rather than actually having a passion for camping. * It also reveals that Miss Priss can speak kodiak (the language of bears, apparently). * If one looks closely at the three bottles of wine on the floor about 11 minutes in, the label reads "Bas de Gamme", which is the French way of saying "low end" (in the sense of being cheap). * This episode confirms that Miss Priss has some bisexual tendencies, in mentioning the girl she kissed at a concert. * After David ordered the campers to the lake for an emergency swim session, he may or may not have subsequently learned that Max can't swim. It is mentioned in "Who Peed the Lake" that he's unaware of this fact, and whether or not he has now finally learned it now is up for debate. Cultural References * The title of the episode is a reference to the concept of a panic room, which is meant to be a completely secure room for people to hide in times of crisis. This concept has also been used in a few movies, songs, and TV shows. ** That being said, the escape room that Campbell and Miss Priss have to navigate is a completely unrelated concept altogether. * The opening dialogue of the episode, "honey I'm home!" along with the canned laugh track is a nod to various sitcoms that frequently make use of the line. Contrary to Campbell's belief of the line never getting old, it's actually overused and done to death. * The "cyber warfare for imbeciles and dumb dumbs" book is a parody of an actual instructional book series known as "For Dummies", which allow people to navigate the subject in question thanks to its use of simple and understandable wording. * Campbell mistakes the escape room for one of the murder rooms from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(franchise) Saw franchise]. * Campbell, voiced by Travis Willingham, claims he is done playing "Philosopher Stone mind games." This is likely a reference to the anime/manga Fullmetal Alchemist: Willingham's performance as Roy Mustang on said anime is one of his most famous roles. ** It could also be a reference to the book/film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. * Miss Priss mentions the real-life musician Stevie Nicks near the end of the episode. Continuity * Campbell's summer home is used again, which has been shown across multiple episodes such as "Journey to Spooky Island" and "NIGHT OF THE LIVING ILL". ** Only one of the taxidermied bears is also shown, as in "Journey to Spooky Island" there were two, and both were set by the front door. The one used here was moved further away for the purposes of the escape room. * Campbell's personal winery is mentioned again here, which was briefly explored by Max and Nikki in "NIGHT OF THE LIVING ILL". * The events of this episode are directly followed up on in "Keep the Change", "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum", and "Time Crapsules" for Campbell. He is initially overconfident and selfish in his reasons for wanting to change, and completely oblivious to Max's efforts to undermine his attempts at growth. He later admits that making self-improvements would mean actually putting in constant effort and he was too lazy to do so, but vowed to finally start trying from that point on. He seems to follow through on that in apologizing to Miss Priss and explaining his efforts to become a better person after they get locked in a room together. He later makes a speech in "Time Crapsules]" about his own reform, but is being expressed by personifying the camp. * The events of episode are directly followed up on in "Keep the Change" "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum", and "Time Crapsules" for Campbell. He is initially overconfident and selfish in his reasons for wanting to change, and completely oblivious to Max's efforts to undermine his attempts at growth. He later admits that making self-improvements would mean actually putting in constant effort and he was too lazy to do so, but vowed to finally start trying from that point on. He seems to follow through on that in apologizing to Miss Priss and explaining his efforts to become a better person after they get locked in a room together. * This episode, along with "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum", show David being the only one to sympathize with Campbell and support his attempts to change. He also recognizes Campbell's speech in "Time Crapsules]" as being about his own reform, but is being expressed by personifying the camp. * Campbell mentions his ongoing efforts to become a better person, which have been shown in "Keep the Change" and "Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum". Errors * When Miss Priss drops her empty wine bag upon being discovered, it is clearly nowhere to be seen upon the ground in the next scene. ** Not only that, but the sound of broken glass alerted Campbell to her presence, yet she was drinking out of a plastic bag. There is no broken glass seen on the floor, either. * The bust of Campbell that Nikki previously broke in "NIGHT OF THE LIVING ILL" is shown to be completely unharmed in this episode. References